Process of distillation



Aug. 8, 1933. v. VOORHEES PROCESS OF DISTILLATION Filed March 1930 I! Igill/I27 NH ELM frwenibr;

Patented Aug. 8, 1933 UNITED STATES PROEESS F DISTHIHJATIIQN VanderveerVoorhces, Hammond, Ind, assignor to Standard Oil Company, (llndiana),Chicago, 11]., a Corporation of Indiana Application March l, 1930]).Serial No. 432,280

1 Claim. ((Cll. ltd-128) This invention relates to a process ofdistilling The still in Figure 1 is further provided with liquids and inparticular high boiling hydrocarinlet and outlet pipes 23 and 24 andlevel bon oils such as lubricating oils and the like. gauge 25. Itmay-be mounted on a furnace One of the objects of the invention is toprovide setting as shown, and heated by a burner 26;

a means for distilling lubricating oils at tem- In operation theprocedure is as follows: A to peratures below those required forcracking. high boiling oil, such as, for example, 45%

Another object is to avoid entrainment of liqresidue from Mid-Continentcrude oil is aduid particles during the evaporation of the oil. mittedto the still through inlet line 23'. It

Other objects will be apparent in the followmay be advantageouslypreheated before entering specification and drawing wherein Fig. 1 ingthe still either by means of a pipe heater or 65 shows the invention asembodied in a shell still a heat exchanger employing waste heat fromyvith vapor line and direct water condenser athot vapors, tar, or thelike. The still is partached; Fig. 2 is an illustration of the glandtially filled to a point slightly below the central through which steammay be introduced into the shaft carrying the vaporizing disks 11. Ifthe s still and Fig. 3 is a detailed illustration of the temperature ofthe oil is not sufficient for disto method of attaching the evaporatingsurfaces to tillation, additional heat may be supplied by 1 a rotatingshaft within the still. means or burner 26. I find it important toReferring more particularly to the drawing, control the temperatureaccurately in order to Figure 1 illustrates in elevation andpartly inobtain the best results.

2c section one form of apparatus by which my in- When the oil has beenbrought to the proper E5 vention may be carried out. The cylindricalstill temperature the shaft 13 is caused to revolve 1 is shown placed ina horizontal position and by means of motor 9 and gearing 10, and as theconnected by means of ample vapor outlets 2 to disks emerge from the oilinto the vapor space a condenser 3 which is here illustrated as a.dithey are coated with a film of the heated oil.

rect contact type of apparatus provided with a Steam is admitted throughpipe 20 and orifices 80 water inlet 4, vacuum connection 5, oil outlet16, sweeping the surfaces of the vaporizing disks 6, water outlet 7, andgauge glass 8. and thereby assisting the evaporation of the Within thestill 1 is mounted a shaft 13 which liquid which is distributed as athin film on the can revolve in bearings at each end and whichvaporizing surfaces. The velocity of the steam may be driven asindicated by a motor 9 and emitted from the orifices 16 should not besuffl- .853 gears 10. Rigidly attached to the shaft is a cient todisrupt the surface of the liquid either series of disks 11 which may besuitably made on the vaporizing plates or the body of the oil, of metal.Between the disks are provided thereby causing undesired entrainment.spacers 12 shown in detail in Figure 3. Disks The amount of steam whichis necessary to and spacers may suitably be held to shaft 13 by employdepends largely on the boiling point of means of a lock nut 14 asindicated in Figure the oil which is being distilled. With higher 1.Referring to Figure 3, shaft 13 is shown to be boiling oils it isnecessary to use more steam hollow. Holes 34 are drilled at intervalsinto than with lower boiling oils. I also find that the interior of theshaft and coincide with the degree of vacuum necessary for operatinggrooves 15 within the spacers 12. The spacers my improved still isdependent upon the boil- 95 are also drilled with small holes 16 leadingfrom ing point or" the oils employed. Higher prestheir perimeter to thegroove 15 and spaced at sures may be used with-the lower boiling'oils,regular intervals entirely around their circumand oils with sufiicientlylow boiling points may ference. be distilled at atmospheric pressure.However,

- Referring again to Figure l, a connection 17 is in the latter casemore steam is required. 1% shown by which steam may be admitted into theWhen it is desired to iractionate an oil into hollow shaft 13. To avoidleakage, a packing a number of difierent fractions I find it advanglandis provided, shown in detail in Figure 2, tageous to operate a batteryof my stills in in which shaft 13 enters bearing 18 and exseries.Residual oil from the first still is drawn tends into the packingbushing 19. Stea is off through pipe 24 and transferred While hot 105admitted through pipe 20 and couplings 2lrand to the second still wherefurther reduction takes 22. Packing 23 prevents the escape of steamplace. This process may be continued to give around the packing nut butpermits the shaft any desired number of lubricating fractions, the 13 torevolve freely. it also prevents leakage amount of each fractionobtained being conof air into the interior the still. trolled by varyingthe temperature of each still,

the degree of vacuum and the amount of steam employed. When distillingoil in this manner I prefer to operate the stills continuously andemploy sucessively higher temperatures and in- 5 creasing amounts ofsteam as the boiling point of the oil increases during the reduction.

Lubricating oils distilled in my improved still are superior to thoseobtained by ordinary methods of distillation, being substantially freefrom asphaltic, colored compounds resulting from cracking andentrainment. They accordingly contain practically no so-called fixedcarbon and are possessed of high color stability. Because of theenormous surface provided by the vaporizing plates which I employ, I amenabled ordinarily obtained.

I have illustrated and described a suitable form of apparatus forcarrying out 'my process of distillation. However, it should beunderstood that my invention is not limited to this particular designbut only as defined by the following claim.

I claim:

The process of distilling high boiling hydrocarbon oil in vacuum withsubstantially no cracking or entrainment of undistilled oil in thevapors, comprising maintaining a body of oil in a still at a temperaturebelow that at which any substantial cracking occurs, alternatelyimmersing and removing a plurality of closely spaced surfaces in saidoil body at a rate sufficient to coat the emergent surfaces with a filmof oil but insuflicient to violently agitate the oil and produceentrainment thereof, introducing a current of steam directly into thespace between said surfaces at a rate insuflicient to rupture the oilfilm thereon and produce entailed oil particles, and withdrawing andcondensing the combined steam and oil vapors from the still.

VANDERVEER VOORI-IEES.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. l, 921, 850. I

August 8, 1933.

VANDERVEER VOORHEES.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Page 2, lines 96, and

97, the claim, for "entailed" read "entrained"; and that the saidLetters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the samemay conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of August, A. D. 1933.

(Seal) M. J. Moore.

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

